Carpe Diem
by Claraon
Summary: A tag to Before I Sleep. Sparky fluff [JohnElizabeth]


Carpe Diem

A/N : Tag to "Before I Sleep",shameless Sparky fluff. Thanks to Jackfan2 for beta !

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"You couldn't help it, could you?" Elizabeth stood in the frame of the balcony's door; an eyebrow raised questioningly toward her ranking military officer.

John shrugged innocently, but never met her eyes, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"'Happy ten thousand and thirty-fifth birthday'?" she said closing the door behind her.

"What? It is an important day. You know, some people even enjoy being celebrated once a year."

"Maybe," she said coming to stand beside him, "but some people don't have anything else to worry about, like say, an Ancient city under the threat of the most dangerous race ever alive?"

"C'mon ! You're the hero of the day." he cheered, poking her arm slightly, "Why don't you just try and "breathe" for a change, like your elder and wiser self told you? "

"_She_ was perhaps, but I'm hardly a hero." Elizabeth reflected, as she leaned over the banister. "Anyone would have done the same, being given the chance to save this entire expedition.

"And here comes the self devaluation!" Frustrated, he straightened and turned to face her, "Look, I know one Mckay on Atlantis is more than enough," His voice softened and he gently turned her to face him, "but seriously, you've got to start giving yourself a bit of the credit from time to time."

As she studied John, Elizabeth expression changed slowly, a smirk appearing on her lips.

"What?" John suddenly looked unsure. "Do I have something on my face?" He brought one hand up to wipe his chin.

Silently, she shook her head in response. Then, slowly, deliberately she moved toward him, stopping barely a few inches away from John's face.

"I think I forgot to thank you for the box." The kiss that followed was soft, light, and chaste. But lingering.

Startled at first, John froze. Then, his response was mechanical in nature, as his hand moved to cup her jaw.

Then he remembered; this was his boss he was kissing, and pulled back.

" 'Lizabeth," he said somewhat breathless. He met her gaze searching, pleading… hopeful, "what are you doing? Don't get me wrong, it's far from unpleasant, but..."

"You were right," she answered simply, unapologetically, "I'm merely applying what she told us."

"And how exactly does a list of gate addresses lead to…" he hesitated, "this?"

Chuckling, she raised her arms to wrap them around his neck, drawing them closer together and answered, "I was referring to the "All that matters is right now" part. I think you'd already dozed off by then."

"Hey that's not fair!" His voice was teasingly petulant, but he brought his own arms around her waist, clasping his hands just at the small of her back, thus, sealing their proximity, "Our last mission _was_ exhausting!"

"If by "last mission" you mean staying up all night trying to teach the Athosians how to play football..."

His kiss silenced her. Insistent. Deliberate; much more passionate than the first.

After some time the lack of air became an issue and they reluctantly broke apart. Their foreheads touching, intimate.

After a moment, "So, " John added, his voice just above a whisper near her ear, "Carpe Diem, huh?"

"Yes, John," she said placing one kiss on his jaw "seize the day," a second just a bit higher "like the Ancients used to say," a third on his earlobe. She felt the shiver course through him and smiled, and continued.

"Well," he replied, trying hard to focus as Elizabeth continued the assault on the spot just beneath his left earlobe, "if you don't mind, I'd rather seize--"

It was her turn this time; she silenced him with a kiss. Triumphantly her heart sang as she indeed seized the day.

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A/N bis : 1. In case some people didn't know,in literature the term "Ancients" applies to Antic Greeks and Romans, hence the joke (not that I pretend to be funny or anything).

2. I purposedly ignored Simon, just because I'm the writer and I can ! (evil laugh)

3. You are allowed, of course, to share your opinion on this piece with the rest of the world. : )


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